Re: A system is all good and well - but how long to SIM is the Q
I would SIM trade the system/method until all of the following are true: Sim Account is increasing on a regular basis, Losses are Low and tolerable, Drawdown is acceptable, Net Per Trade after commission and slippage is at least $50 to $100, have enough Real Money in the account to cover regular Margin + 2 X the Maximum Drawdown.....This is the Margin amount I recommend per contract. I also agree, with jacquesnz, that a minimum is 3 weeks. You do not want to become over confident or under capitalized. Even after Losses....you want to have enough money to keep trading. Look real closely at the back testing.....Make sure profits are consistent and now 1 big win etc. If you are doing a system performance report....then subtract out the outliers(out of the ordinary wins, keep the losses in) ...this will help you decide it the system is likely to be profitable.